Blood Bonds
by Wolf and Leopard
Summary: Just your usual, two girls TRIP through a portal and end up in the naruto world. Rated M because the person helping me write it is a pervert and I tend to cuss. We make an awesome team. SasukeXOC and SaiXOC two different characters just so you know.
1. Chapter 1

**I am no expert about things such as runes and other items of similar nature, if you feel insulted by it whether because of your religion or personal beliefs then you always have the choice of just going back where you came from so back off I'm doing my best here. **

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Chapter 1

It was 9:18 p.m. on February 14, 2010, Valentine's Day, but that's not important. A fairly short girl about 4 feet 11 inches maybe 5 feet tall, with dark brown hair and brown eyes; sat uncomfortably on a brown leather couch, seemingly surrounded by animals. An orange tabby sitting on her right by her shoulder and a small dog laying on her left, there was also a medium almost large dog also on her left laying on the floor.

The cat began to rub its head on her neck causing her to slightly stiffen unused to receiving such attentions from a cat.

She looked up when another short girl, shorter than herself by an inch or two not by much, with long light red hair and hazel eyes, whom she recognized as her best friend, Dawn.

When Dawn reached the couch she questioned her friend who was spending the night at her house, "Is playing games on the wii okay, Christine?"

Shrugging Christine nodded and held up the two games and asked Dawn, "Which one do you want to play?"

"Not the brawl one." Dawn happily replied, nodding Christine held out the other game to Dawn to put in the wii.

And so the games begin…

"Ughh, you killed me!" Dawn exclaimed angrily at Christine, both of whom kept their eyes on the screen.

"Calm down you killed yourself" Christine stated calmly, trying to avoid dying herself.

When Dawn's character came back to life the same incident occurred, "You killed me _again_! I hate you." Dawn exclaimed once again. Christine responded, "Aw, I love you too buddy… You killed me!" Dawn smiled happily and stated sarcastically, "Your welcome buddy."

February 15 2:37 a.m.

"Hey lets go to sleep." Dawn said tiredly. Looking at the clock Christine agreed and they went to Dawn's room to get some sleep.

February 15 8:51

Christine read one of the various books in Dawn's room while she waited for her to wake up. She tiredly looked at Dawn who was still sleeping soundly in her bed and was tempted to go back to sleep.

Still tired since she only got about six hours of sleep Christine got into the bed she had used last night and went off to sleep.

February 15 9:28

Dawn's mother had come and roused her out of bed; since Christine had found that she couldn't get back to sleep and ended up passing her time staring at the ceiling.

When Dawn looked almost fully awake Christine asked her, "Do you want to play that game again but try not to die this time?"

Dawn responded tiredly, "Nah, you know we won't be able to anyway."

Making their way to Dawn's living room they were met by bright sunlight coming in through the window

"Hey Dawn do you want to do a nine-rune cast?" Christine questioned Dawn. Sparing a quick glance at Christine, Dawn nodded and said, "Yea, sure."

"Come on." Dawn stated impatiently, while Christine prepared for the nine-rune Cast, which Christine was less familiar with than the previous readings Christine had done for her friend, Dawn.

She started out by taking out a white cloth the size of a large handkerchief along with a bag which held all 25 of her runes and placing it on a table near the couch and beckoned Dawn to come and begin the nine-rune cast. A few moments later when Christine noticed Dawn hadn't moved from her position on the couch, her attention had been averted to the computer while Christine had been prepared for the nine-rune cast and was completely immersed in what was on the screen.

Walking back to the couch Christine began to read what was currently on the screen while Dawn took no notice still completely focused on what was on the screen. After reading the majority of the text on the page Christine shook her head and shot an exasperated look at Dawn thinking sadly, _'I'm surrounded by perverts.'_

Christine poked Dawn who didn't bother to scroll down or do anything to hide the perverted, though only mildly so, text. "Your nine-rune cast is ready Dawn hurry up or I'm going to put them away." Though she wasn't worried by Christine's threat Dawn turned off the computer screen and approached the table Christine had set up for her nine-rune cast while casually waving off Christine's irritated look.

Having gotten over her irritation at Dawn, Christine calmly handed Dawn the bag of runes and gave her instructions of what to do for the nine-rune cast. Christine gave Dawn an old book about the meanings of the different runes so that she could find what each of the runes that where in her cast meant and how to do the casting.

Christine excused herself to go and get her bag from Dawn's room and go to the bathroom, leaving Dawn to carry out the casting.

Dawn put her hand in the bag and slowly ran her fingers over the runes. "Hmmm" she hummed to herself. She picked up nine runes and shook them in her hands without really thinking about anything. She tossed them towards the table. "Sohya!" she shouted.

Christine flinched in the other room and looked towards the door. "Oh god, what did she do now?" she thought to herself, but continued to gather her things into the bag.

Dawn giggled to herself, she looked down to find only seven of the runes had landed on the cloth, strangely they all landed face down. She repositioned the runes in a few odd patterns before she picked up the book and began to look for the meanings of the seven runes and saying their names as she found their pages. "Ansuz… wunjo… pertho… tiwaz… inguz… dagaz… and…"

There was only one rune she had yet to find when Christine returned to the room and continued the last word she heard of Dawn's sentence while looking at the runes that Dawn had put face up, "And…"

"Christine, do you know what his rune means? I can't find it in the book." Dawn asked pointing to a rune.

"Um, maybe I'll try. Will you flip it over?" Christine responded as she started looking for the rune's symbol.

"It doesn't matter the rune doesn't have any symbol its blank. What does that mean?" Dawn informed Christine.

Picking up the rune to look at both sides she recognized it due to its unique quality, not having a symbol or being blank, "Ah this is the rune of fate. How could you not have seen that? It's in the very back of the book."

Looking down at the book in her hands Dawn began to flip through the pages and finally found the page about the blank rune.

"Wyrd" Dawn said reading the name of the rune. "Yea that's its name." Christine commented while looking at the book in Dawn's hand.

Unnoticed by them the seven runes had arranged themselves in a circle and as a dim light began to glow from the circle; which formed the image of a sunny forest which looked as if they were looking out a window. Turning around both of the girls were shocked by what they saw, they cautiously approached the hole which was big enough for someone to fall in if they weren't paying attention.

Dawn was in front of Christine by a step or two but they when Christine tripped over the large dog who had been laying on the floor to her left earlier and had moved to this particular spot; and was calmly ignoring the strange hole in the floor; Dawn of course had noticed her dog and stepped over him, the same couldn't be said for Christine who tripped over him and brought both herself and Dawn down the strange hole in the floor the runes had made.

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**Yay I finally posted it! I apologize to the people who have actually read my stories and want me to update them it must be pretty annoying that I keep on starting new stories rather than working on the ones I've already started. Don't worry I'm going to start working on it though.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter I've already finished two other chapters on this story so I just need to check them for errors and such, and I'll post them as soon as possible.**

**Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! I just rewrote this, it seemed to have quite a few grammatical errors, heh whoops... **

**Oh well I fixed all the one's I noticed so, please...**

**Relax, read, and REVIEW!**

_**-Leopard.**_

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_**Blood Bonds**_

**Chapter 2**

They landed with an ungraceful thud on the forest floor, which luckily for them was only covered with grass and small clusters of ferns and various other forms of forest plant life. When they had recovered from the shock of the fall, Dawn glared accusingly at Christine, shouting angrily, "What the heck! What was that?"

Smiling apologetically Christine responded sheepishly, "Sorry 'bout that, I tripped. We shouldn't be worrying about who's to blame, we need to find out where we are." She finished sensibly.

After Dawn reluctantly agreed Christine got up and offered her hand to Dawn still smiling apologetically. Dawn's glare didn't waver, but she grabbed Christine's hand begrudgingly nonetheless, still not having forgiven Christine for getting them into this situation where ever they were.

Dawn's anger was slightly appeased when out of nowhere the nine runes used in the cast dropped from the sky and bounced off Christine's head and onto the ground, her anger almost totally dissipated when the book that Christine had given her so that she could figure out the meanings of the runes and the bag containing the rest of the runes also fell on Christine's head and she hissed in pain and clutched her head. The corner of the book hit her head just so you get where her pain is coming from.

At seeing Christine's series of bad luck and now obvious pain, Dawn could barely contain her laughter; Christine smiled despite her pain, glad that her friend's mood had lightened.

Once Dawn's laughter had ceased both of the girls finally took notice of their changed appearance. "What the crap, last I checked we were only 13 years old! Now we look like 15 or 16 year olds!" Dawn exclaimed looking at both hers' and Christine's now older bodies.

After carefully examining both of their bodies Dawn stated crossly, "And you're still bigger than me." Noticing that Dawn was referring to her chest Christine quickly changed the subject, while embarrassedly thinking,_ 'pervert!'_, "It seems like we have less overall body fat now, and our body structure seems more athletic or is that just me, but either way this is really strange. At least I'm still taller than you."

Dawn quickly countered, "Yes you're right, and this is really is strange. And you're only taller by an inch or two." Christine ignored Dawn's comment smiling happily at still being taller than her friend, while she gathered up the fallen runes thinking that they may be important if they came through the same hole they did.

"So what should we do?" Dawn questioned as she observed their surroundings.

Before Christine could answer, both of them heard a very audible snap of someone stepping on a dead twig. Looking around Dawn was about to shout something out to see if there was anyone there and possibly ask for help or information about where they were; but before she could say anything three, what they recognized from the anime Naruto to be, sound ninjas.

Immediately recognizing the ninjas as threats Christine didn't waste a moment as she shouted at Dawn to hide, and quickly dove into the undergrowth and made an effort to conceal herself among the plants, while Dawn responded just as fast as Christine and shot off, running at an impressive speed away from the sound ninjas.

Unfortunately luck wasn't on her side as the sound ninjas immediately shot after her apparently forgetting about Christine and despite her running speed and agility being enhanced though she did keep ahead of them for a short time it was merely a matter of time before the sound ninja caught up with her, knocked her out and took her with them.

After hearing the sound ninja leave in pursuit of Dawn, Christine looked around and cursed at the situation. She took a moment to calmly think of a solution to her current problems.

**_Dark side:_**

Dawn had probably been taken by sound ninjas. (she didn't actually see Dawn get taken but knew she hadn't hidden like Christine had told her to)

She may or may not be alive.

If she is alive than they probably would have taken her to the base.

If they took her to the base then there was a chance that Orochimaru or Sasuke would be there both being very, very dangerous.

She had no idea where the base was.

She had no ninja skills what so ever to help her save Dawn.

She knew absolutely no one that she could actually trust.

She didn't know why they (the sound ninjas) had taken Dawn or if it was just random or on purpose.

She had no idea where she was *cough, lost, cough*

Feeling extremely pessimistic about the situation after looking on the dark side for assistance in finding a solution she looked on the bright side.

_**Bright side:**_

… Uhhhh….

Not being able to come up with good things Christine thought harder hoping to find something that would make this situation even a bit less hopeless than it already was.

_**Bright side #2:**_

… She had the runes and book?

After finding that one, not quite good thing, she gripped the runes and the rune book in her hands and began to make her way through the undergrowth, while avoiding any prickly plants.

She hadn't traveled for than more than a few moments when she heard an unknown feminine voice question, "It looks like your buddy's in quite a situation, huh kiddo?" Pausing in her march through the forest Christine looked around not knowing if she was hearing correctly and if the voice was really addressing her.

Her head was turned to the right in her search for the source of the voice, the next thing she knew a blue blur practically tackled her from her left and ended up with an arm around her shoulders in some sort of hug. Instinctively she moved her hands to jab the person sharply in the side, a technique she used on the people she knew who tried to hug her or got too close in general.

But she hesitated just before her hand made contact, purely out of her unfamiliarity with the person and she generally reserved the more violent aspects of her personality for friends and people she actually knew well.

Instead she stiffly asked the stranger that still had her arm over her shoulder, "Um, who are you? And would you mind getting off?" In vain Christine tried to pry the strange woman off her after several attempts Christine gave up and settled for studying the woman that had her arm around her shoulders.

She was fairly tall and looked no older than 30 years old; strangely she had dark blue hair and eyes with lightly tanned skin. Bluntly Christine thought, _'Yup, we're in Naruto, where peoples' hair and such come in all the colors of the rainbow.'_

Patiently, Aoi watched the girl while still remaining hidden; she took the time to study one of the sources of the strange chakra that had come from this area. Inwardly smirking Aoi thought happily that this girl would be perfect for her to train as her apprentice. Even now she could sense that this girl had a fairly large amount of chakra and was good at concealing it despite obviously not having been trained in the ninja arts. But to Aoi what made her perfect to be her apprentice was the way her chakra system was arranged…

Unable to restrain her excitement at having the an apprentice Aoi rushed up to the brown haired girl and wrapped her arm around her shoulders; pleasantly surprised at her almost immediate semi-violent reaction and the fairly polite, if not stiff address followed by several attempts to dislodge her until settling for examining herself like she had been doing while hidden from sight. Feeling very pleased and excited, Aoi waited for the young girl to finish examining her before answering her question, "I'm Kita Aoi. It is a pleasure to meet you…" Pausing Aoi prompted the girl to give her name.

Christine was reluctant to give the strange blue haired woman, who called herself Aoi, her name; the less anyone besides her and Dawn knew the better. Not being good at thinking up names off the top of her head especially ones in a different language/culture, she remained silent looking down at the ground instead of at Aoi.

When the silence continued Aoi decided to give the young brunette a name instead; giving the girl's shoulders a quick squeeze Aoi jumped in front of her and excitedly told her, "Okay well then I'll call you Megumi. How does that sound eh, Megumi?"

Shocked, the newly named Megumi dumbly nodded her head at Aoi internally pleased at the alternative.

Calming down Aoi became slightly more serious before addressing Megumi about what she had seen in the forest, "I saw your friend get taken by those sound ninja; I assume you want to get her back."

Megumi's eyes narrowed suspiciously before nodding slightly, "Well in your current position, it'd be more of a suicide mission then a rescue mission." Aoi informed Megumi bluntly.

Megumi looked Aoi in the eyes before nodding sadly in acknowledgement. "And if I happened to offer you the chance of improving to the ability level capable of breaking your friend out of the sound hideout in three days. What would you say?" Aoi questioned attempting to be sly; an effect her cheery disposition seemed to cancel out.

Still looking slightly suspicious Megumi asked, "What's the catch?" Smiling widely Aoi responded, "Call me Aoi-sensei."

Not sensing any deceit and honestly having no other options, Megumi smiled and accepted happily, "Okay, it's a deal then, Aoi-sensei."

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**Okay I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm sorry there hasn't been many updates lately but both me and wolf have started high school so we're kind of busy. **

**Oh well we'll do our best to update more often and make it so that we don't have to go and rewrite stuff as often, as in do it better the first time around...**

**Please review! If it helps any I'm going through and rewriting and starting a new chapter of this story because 'EarthboundImmortal' was kind enough to review this story! **

**But thank you to everyone else that has reviewed! We are thankful for each review we get! **

**_-Leopard._**

**REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay here it is. My partner and I are both working on the next chapter RIGHT NOW so it still may take a little while for us to update but we'll have the chapter.**

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**Chapter 3**

Day 1

The day, as Aoi-sensei had put it, was still young and her training would begin today and continue until the day after tomorrow. After which her training would have advanced her enough to be able to rescue Dawn. Megumi was slightly doubtful not fully believing that she would really be strong enough to break into the sound base and rescue Dawn especially if Orochimaru was there, or Sasuke.

As Megumi/Christine thought about this, Aoi lead her to a large field that was surrounded by trees.

Looking up Megumi became entranced and unknowingly wandered from her place at Aoi's side. The field was by no means the textbook definition of beauty, but it did have grass it seemed to be whittled with numerous scars from ninjas practicing and perfecting their techniques over the years. Though it seemed to have its own beauty going for it; as she observed the different types of scars, each seeming to have come from a different technique than the others giving each a bit of originality and personality.

Aoi watched her new pupil from the edges of the field while sitting on a stump in the shade. The fact that not only was herself but also her pupil, were both taken in by the haunting beauty of the field made her smile. The name, Megumi, truly fitted the girl, because to Aoi, she was honestly a blessing.

After she had mastered her training she had been looking for the proper pupil to leave her legacy of techniques and knowledge to for years. Aoi hadn't found one person that had the same ability she and Megumi possessed, or had the right kind of… heart, really. Each one of her earlier choices of pupils would have used their newfound knowledge and power for terrible reasons or had given their blood loyalty to someone who would, but she could sense that were they were too ambitious; Megumi was more hesitant and timid. She could tell that Megumi had someone that held something very valuable, her blood loyalty; and that, that person had a good heart and spirit and wouldn't abuse that.

Snapping out of her thoughts Aoi looked to see that Megumi was standing near where she was sitting having finished admiring the field and was patiently waiting for her to begin. Smiling at Megumi she began to inform her of the schedule for the next three days including today.

"Today I'll tell you about your chakra system and how to use it to enhance your body and also how it in its uniqueness will affect your body."

Seeing that Megumi was about to ask something Aoi cut her off, "Don't worry about it, I'll tell you everything you need to know. Oh and rule #1. Don't interrupt me while I'm talking about something important or in teacher mode. Okay?"

Seeing Megumi visibly shut her mouth and obediently nod Aoi continued, "Tomorrow I will teach you how to use various ninjutsu and how to effectively use your unique chakra system. I think this will be the worst day for you, I'll try to make it as easy as possible for you but I can't promise anything, Megumi."

Megumi felt slightly worried about what was to come tomorrow but just swallowed and nodded.

"Since you will have been using chakra for the past two days I'll give you a chance to replenish it by teaching you how to use the basic ninja tools so that you can use them to their full potential, ya know kunai, shuriken, and senbon; and helping you perfect your aim."

Getting up from her seat Aoi began walking towards an area in the field that was relatively free of deep scars. Megumi followed her obediently the sound of the grass, the only thing reveling her movements.

Turning around Aoi began to address Megumi, "I won't waste your time by telling you to focus your chakra to an area of your body using traditional means." Spotting Megumi's confused look she continued to explain holding up her fist to give an example, "Hold up your hand, picture the blood flowing through your body, when it reaches your hand, picture the blood begin to glow and energy surround your hand then…" Curling her hand into a fist Aoi slammed it into the ground, causing a large crater to appear.

Prompting Megumi to do the same, Aoi watched as Megumi silently began to repeat what Aoi had done not moments before; and was delighted to find that when her fist connected with the ground it made a decent sized crater, though not as large as Aoi's, it was a decent size for her first time.

Megumi looked at the crater she had caused in amazement; she hadn't thought that she would really have had the same result as Aoi-sensei. When Aoi-sensei cleared her throat she looked up to see her smiling widely before she began to explain what exactly was different about her chakra system. _'Ugh, these are going to be the longest three days of my life.' _Megumi thought tiredly.

Meanwhile…

Dawn skulks as a freakishly tall man in odd garb drags her behind him, her long hair getting dirty as it rubs between her and the filthy forest floor. She gazes into the distance, thinking of Christine who hopefully got away from any idiot, bastard, predators who dared to even think about laying a hand on her Christine.

Dawn sighs out loud the sound so soft that it is barely heard by her, going unnoticed by tall dude. She puts on a bored look. '_Save or be saved'_, she thinks. She nods her head for a moment to think before deciding to wait for her anti-social friend to save or message her in somehow, instead of startling this guy and making a swift escape.

If she hadn't heard from Christine in about a month and a half then she would escape to go save her. Hopefully she wouldn't find a corpse instead. If that be then, she would stay in this world forever, if only to get revenge on the bastard who dared to harm her dearest friend.

Dawn softly sighs inaudibly once more, she tilts her head to the side hiding a smirk before starting to talk to freaky tall guy, purposefully raising her already child-like voice to make a soft cutesy and innocent sounding one.

"May I walk on my own, please?" she asks softly carefully hiding a disgusted smile behind a pure innocent looking one, as the idiot standing before her blushes and nods. Perverted, gross, old, pedophile, she thinks to herself, forgetting that although her body was incredibly childish looking she still appeared about 3 years older here.

He stops to wait for her as she quietly and sleekly stands up, quickly and easily getting out of the ropes tied around her wrists and body with a hidden pocket knife that she carried around. It looked exactly like a ceremonial knife, as it had delicate carvings strewn along all the edges and a blade made out of only the purest and best metal. '_Thank you Internet the place where you can buy ANYTHING.'_ She thought happily.

She quickly hides the knife before the man can see it. She quickly pats the dust out of her hair and brushes the dirt off her pants before looking at her surroundings for the first time.

A bare forest meets her searching and surprisingly uncaring eyes, no animals in sight or sound. She sensed no other presences aside from the older man and herself. There was no one around for quite a distance it seemed unless they were carefully hiding their presence. Dawn paused for a moment wondering how she knew that.

She shrugged, well whatever. She looked down at a puddle in front of her feet, narrowing her eyes at the fact that there were no other sights or scents that suggested it had rained recently. Her eyes widened a bit at the reflection that met her, as clear sapphire colored eyes looked back at her, like jewels.

An incredibly odd and foreign color that clashed ridiculously with her red hair and pale complexion giving her a look that could be seen as either hostile or adorable, she shook her head at herself with a frown. '_You've gotta be kidding me, I look 13 years old finally and now I look like a freak'_, she shook her again.

Well, whatever, she thought choosing not to care or wig out over the unchangeable and unappealing circumstances. '_Unchangeable for now anyway'_, she thought evilly. "Hey…" the older man called back to her from about a yard away, their backs facing each other. Her expression quickly went from cool to cute in an instant as she turned to the man, "yes, I'm coming." Dawn cooed as she ran forward a bit to him.

Yes, she would wait for Christine to find her…that would be an all-around easier plan; she definitely didn't want to lose all ways of contacting Christine in this place. She sneakily switched the cell phone in her back pocket to vibrate.

Besides, she thought grimly…she would definitely would trip and fall if she tried to run right now. She wouldn't be able to focus with this lovely scenery surrounding her…she would probably end up tripping or getting lost as she would start day-dreaming or losing focus of the things around her. She sighed, audibly this time. Better follow tall, dark, and creepy for now.

Dawn let out a loud yawn, the sound somehow coming out sounding slightly petite. Dawn grimaced slightly. She gazed off into the distance as she closely followed after the man in front of her, not really focusing on where she was going, stumbling every other step or so. She walked a few steps when she heard the man in front of her exclaim "ah…" she reacted a moment late as she ran head first into a tree to the left of the man.

She stepped back a bit seemingly unharmed, she rubbed her head softly as if quite used to it already. Dawn turned back to the man smiling sweetly, "heh, heh, sorry" she said softly, her clear eyes betraying nothing. The man bit his lip softly as though concerned before turning back "we're almost there" he stated before giving a worrying grin and stepping towards her, positioning himself close behind her.

Her body tensed automatically, her eyes barely keeping from casting the creepy man a suspicious glance. Instead she managed to smile up at the man behind her, "what's up" she asked. The man took her moments distraction to chop the nerve running along the back of her neck, still biting his lip as she slowly passed out, hissing slightly.

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Dawn slowly came to consciousness, opening her eyes to a dark cold room. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness in mere seconds, she squinted slightly as she looked at the dark cold bedroom that met her eyes. She looked down slightly to find her legs folded beside her on a soft and fluffy bed.

She smirked, not that bad a place to wake up I'd say, she thought to herself as she moved to brush her hair. She was startled to find chains restricting her arms movement when she moved though. Her back leaning against the wall, she found that chains had been latched around her wrists and held her to the wall.

The metal had obviously been attached for a while as the chains had long since risen to her temperature, so that she had not felt it at first. She shivered slightly, why was this room so damn cold, it was like someone had taken a basement cell and designed it to look like a bedroom.

Dawn slowly unfolded her legs rubbing them against each other slightly to help the blood flow through her nearly sleeping legs. She tilted her head, the chains restricting her hands making her horribly uncomfortable, as she was completely used to having her hands free and ready at all times.

She rubbed her wrists together, the most she could manage to move with the chains on. She found that if she stretched the chains out that she could lie down, however she still felt the restrictions would not let her reach the knife and cell phone she could still feel ever so slightly in her back pocket. She sighed, softly, deciding to test the restrictions.

Dawn slowly got up off the bed and walked slowly to the door across the room from her. She just about reached the door when the chains pulled her back. She smirked, oh if she could only get a hot guy in this position, the sweet look like that of a puppy begging for forgiveness from their master…not the time for that, she shook her head.

Now then, where did creepy dude go? She pondered this, sort of gazing off into the distance when the door slowly started to open. A slightly tall man entered the door, he had long hair and would almost look hot or possibly slightly feminine if it wasn't for what looked like a crappy make-up job on his face and the clothes that make him look like some kind of trashy drag-whore…is that some kind of freaky robe?

The man's freakishly long tongue came out to slide across his bottom lip. Did he think that made him look sexy or something? God, this guy needed a reality check. "Wait a sec…" Dawn muttered out loud, for the first time really focusing on the man in front of her.

"Goddess, you look exactly like Orochimaru." She stated in a bored tone. "Man that's just freaky" she stated quietly, a look of what was almost amusement showing in her eyes.

Orochimaru's gaze flicked involuntarily, "How do you know my name, child?" Orochimaru asked sharply.

Dawn hid her shock as the realization dawned on her, as to the dimension that Christine and she had TRIPPED INTO. However, a plan was quickly being constructed in her mind.

"Well, Lord Orochimaru…" Dawn stalled for but a moment as she finished formulating her plan. "There is something I feel I must discuss with you, my Lord." Dawn spoke softly, almost tauntingly.

Orochimaru raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. "However, if I may be so bold as to first ask a question, my Lord?" Dawn gently inquired. "Does Sasuke Uchiha happen to be in your possession, my Lord?" Dawn asked slowly, needing to know how far the plot had progressed in this world.

"Tsssss" Orochimaru hissed, slightly angered as his tongue flicked out across his cracked parted lips. "The Uchiha brat refused outright to join me more than 3 years ago…"

"Ooh, so the all-powerful Uchiha isn't as such a bastard as I thought" Dawn exclaimed. Orochimaru hissed at this but chose to ignore it; Dawn held in a snicker at his scornful face.

Orochimaru hissed once more in annoyance, "How do you know my name, child" Orochimaru once more asked, a hint of threat sneaking into his voice; Dawn softly upturned her lips.

"I am the best fortune-teller in this world-"She pauses to silently snicker at the irony of "this world". "Is that so? Tell me my child, what is your name?" Orochimaru eagerly inquired.

Dawn hid her smirk at the child-like anticipation that the older man before her now showed. "My name is Minako, My Lord". Orochimaru raised his eyebrows and put on a look of disinterest, not managing to hide the conniving look that shone through his eyes.

He hissed slightly. "I will speak to you about this matter later…Minako" he tried out the name slowly rolling it on the tip of his tongue, sending chills of disgust down Dawn's spine.

"For now, however I shall leave you, Kabuto will arrive shortly with your dinner" He continued, as if trying to sound kind. Needless to say, he totally just looked creepier, Minako noted. She smiled slightly; '_better get used to that name as soon as possible'_, she thought.

Three days later…

Megumi who in the past three days, had become slightly more muscular and tan from training from dawn to dusk with Aoi-sensei so she could become a skilled enough ninja to save her friend from the sound base.

She stood alongside her sensei facing a forest which unlike the one she had trained within, held almost no signs of life and the atmosphere was definitely less welcoming then the forest she had trained in… it felt almost sinister.

Aoi grudgingly left Megumi with directions to the sound hideout and a variety of supplies ranging from weapons to food and even to multiple doses of sleeping powder and poison, along with new clothes that were better suited for a shinobi to wear than what Megumi had been wearing before.

Following the directions Aoi-sensei gave her, Megumi soon came upon a strange complex which seemed to produce waves of the sinister energy she felt while traveling through the forest. She guessed was the sound base; cautiously entering, wary of any traps, and also at the fact that there didn't seem to be any sound ninja, or any one for that matter.

She silently crept through the halls trying to be as quiet as possible while she checked all the rooms she came across for any signs of Dawn.

After searching what seemed like over 50 rooms Megumi closed her eyes and focused on finding Dawn's chakra like Aoi-sensei had taught her.

Sensing Dawn's presence in the farthest recesses of the eastern wing of the hideout, Megumi, who had been searching in the west wing, turned around and began to run to the east wing, where Dawn was located.

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Minako sat bored out of her mind in the same room she had woken up in three days ago, she had just finished eating the meal that Kabuto had brought her and was laying on her back staring at the ceiling when she felt her heart skip a beat. In that moment she felt Christine's presence in the hideout over in the western wing.

'_That idiot, she's in the wrong wing! And it's about time she got here I was bored out of my mind_' Minako thought critically while she made sure she had all of her possessions with her; she stared angrily at the single chain that connected her ankle to the wall, it was the only thing in the way of her freedom and her reunion with Christine. Minako then proceeded to sit on the bed and impatiently wait for Christine to find her and break her out of this hideout.

When Megumi entered the east wing of the hideout she once again focused on Minako's chakra so that she wouldn't have to search each of the rooms that she came across and lessen the chance of accidently running into Orochimaru or Sasuke.

When she finally reached the room where Minako was being kept she was met with the sight of her best friend who had her left ankle chained to the wall sitting on a bed, but was otherwise unharmed.

"Dawn! I'm so glad you're okay!" Megumi began as she approached Minako, before she was forced to dodge an axel kick aimed for her stomach by Minako, her victory was short lived when Minako quickly retaliated and punched her in the head instead, Megumi having not noticed the attack was sent sprawling to the floor; while Minako exclaimed, "You're late!" before she gathered up a still dazed Megumi in her arms and hugging her.

After regaining her bearings Megumi hastily struggled out of Minako's grip, Megumi rarely being a fan of physical contact. Hardly sparing the chain on Minako's ankle, as quickly as she could, Megumi focused chakra in her hand and severed a small portion of chain from the wall, about seven links remaining attached to her ankle. Minako frowned shortly, great, just enough to trip over later.

Looking at each other they both decided to save any talking until they got a safe distance away from the base, and they both broke out into a run, eager to get out of the hide out.

Megumi and Minako ran around for about thirty more minutes, basically running around in circles Minako stopped which caused Megumi to do the same. "Hey…"Minako started "don't you know where the exit is?"Minako finished suspiciously. "…uh…of course I do…don't you trust me?" Megumi asked hesitantly, Minako stared at her, seeming to pierce her with her gaze, "No." she replied bluntly.

"Well shouldn't you remember the way out from when you were brought here?" Megumi questioned crossly.

"No, I was knocked out before I even entered the base." Minako deadpanned. "Oh." Megumi responded. "So we're lost." Minako stated looking angrily at Megumi.

Trying to appease Minako, Megumi countered, "No, we're not lost. We're just wandering around and we just happen to have no idea where exactly we are or where the exit is; very different from being lost, Dawn."

The sound of a nearby explosion prevented they're conversation from progressing any further, and at the sound of footsteps both of them broke out into a sprint. In their frenzied attempt at getting away from the source of the footsteps, Megumi caught Minako's attention and pointed to a room for them to hide in and hope that whoever causing the noise would run by without checking the room.

Minako quickly opened a door and dove in without checking the room for people, due to her rashness she slammed her head along with the rest of her face and body into the person who had been standing right behind the door.

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A pair of onyx eyes widened at the impact of a small red haired and blue eyed girl running into him; before his eyes became slightly clouded over by the pain the impact resulted in. He instinctively caught the odd looking female in his arms as she was knocked out from the impact of her forehead against his chin.

Megumi was shocked to see Uchiha Sasuke holding Minako while standing in the doorway that Minako had chosen, '_Dawn has some really sucky luck, eh? Looks our world isn't the only one that hates her' _Megumi thought used to Minako's bad luck.

Quickly as to at least attempt to catch him off guard, Megumi once again concentrated chakra into her hand, and threw a punch at Sasuke's face.

Much to Megumi's relief Sasuke quickly dropped Minako to block the blow aimed towards his face. Instead of following through with the punch Megumi quickly caught Minako before she could hit the ground and proceeded to carry her over her shoulder while running as fast as she could in an effort to get as far away from Sasuke as possible.

Sasuke stood in the doorway still slightly dazed at the strange encounter with the two females. Sakura, one of the members of the team sent to eliminate Orochimaru, came up behind him, "Sasuke-kun, are you alright? Did something happen?"

Snapping out of his dazed state Sasuke shook his head while calmly answering, "No."

Naruto, who was also a member of the team, along with the rest of Team 7 including the now permanent member, Sai; came up behind Sakura and impatiently stated, "Come on Sasuke quit blocking the way!"

Sai just observed the scene calmly from his position inside the room.

Sasuke calmly responded to Naruto's statement while he removed himself from the doorway, "Shut up, idiot."

Sasuke didn't bother to mention his encounter with the two females to the rest of the team, and they continued in their search for Orochimaru.

Seemingly by magic Megumi found the exit as she dashed madly through the hallways of the sound base.

It was the exact moment that Megumi found the exit that Minako chose to wake from her state of unconscious. "Bishies~…GAH!" Minako woke with a start as she was messily being carried over her friend's shoulder, the cuff around her ankle jangling against the links.

Minako sighed as Megumi roughly dropped her on the ground outside the base. Minako rose slowly rubbing the sore spot on her butt. "Thanks a ton." She said unattractively.

"No problem, buddy" Megumi replied happily. "Name?"Minako asked, hoping Megumi had the foresight to give a different name to anyone she had encountered in this world.

"….huh?" Megumi replied confused. "What name have you been going by?" Minako asked impatiently. "Oh…OH! Um…Megumi?" Megumi replied quickly. "Great, my name is Minako." Minako said, choosing not to question how she had gotten the name, seemingly out of thin air_. 'Sharpest knife in the drawer she is not_', Minako thought to herself.

However, she was incredibly intelligent…in studies, reason and thinking things out which was something Minako rarely did. Although Megumi was too shy and timid to be able to survive on her own without someone she could rely on, this person happened to be Minako.

Minako wandered over to a near-by stream and took out her cell phone before proceeding to stumble and drop it in the stream. Minako looked up slightly to Megumi, "well…at least we have yours." She stated calmly, already quite used to this. Megumi quickly looked down at the ground, "uh…right" she replied hesitantly. Minako looked at her suspiciously, "Megumi…"

"Fine, fine, fine; I left it in your room." She stated quietly averting her eyes hoping to not bring about Minako's wrath.

"What!" Minako exclaimed angrily, Megumi backed away in case Minako decided to take her anger out on her, but luckily for her Minako repressed her violent tendencies and instead face palmed.

Motioning for Megumi to follow her Minako began to walk in the direction where the portal that had taken them to this world and see if they could find it and get back out, "Come on we need to see if we can find it."

"It?" Megumi tilted her head, confused.

Minako turned her head around to give Megumi the, are-you-an-idiot-you-know-exactly-what-'it'-is look before continuing in the direction towards where the portal had been located. It's amazing how her eyes could carry on a conversation.

Widening her eyes in realization Megumi nodded and resumed following Minako through the silent forest.

When they finally reached the clearing they had landed in when they TRIPPED in to the strange hole; Minako began searching for the hole they had entered this world through.

Unknowingly they had attracted the attention of the team of leaf shinobi, who they had passed by, unknowingly of course, and were currently be watched as they examined the small clearing which still contained traces of the unusual chakra.

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Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Sai stealthily hide among the branches and watched the two girls.

Sasuke warily watched the brown haired girl who had faked a punch at his face in order to get him to let go of her companion; thinking of her his eyes wandered to observe her. Now watching her movements he was noticed her wavy red hair and caught a glance of sapphire blue eyes; he wasn't sure whether to find the short girl extremely cute or creepy.

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"Please, oh please tell me you still have the runes." Minako pleaded. Megumi nodded, "Oh, yeah I do." "Thank the heavens!" exclaimed. "Why don't we hurry up and find the portal, once your finished thanking the heavens of course." Megumi remarked impatiently. "Yeah, we need to find it fast." Minako agreed and continued to search for the portal.

"Have you found it yet?" Minako questioned after a few minutes of searching. "Yeah, then I hid it away so that we could search for the darn thing together forever. Of course I haven't found it yet!" Megumi replied snidely.

"Found what?" An unknown voice questioned the two.

Immediately responding out of habit Minako practically yelled while turning around, "Don't you know what we're talking about?!"

At seeing the source of the voice and the multiple people accompanying it, Minako froze for a moment before whipping out her knife and getting into a defensive crouching position, keeping her knife arm in front of her to allow her to easily block or attack.

Seeing that the group hadn't had enough time to fully register her movements or her weapon Minako quickly hid it behind her back while she stood up to assume a more relaxed stance, while stealthily taking off one of her earrings she innocently answered the voice while alerting the ever unobservant Megumi who still hadn't turned around due to her concentration on finding the portal and that she was very much used to Minako's random angry yells, but whose body had tensed just now sensing the ninjas; "My earring!"

Turning stiffly around her body still tense Megumi smoothly recovered responding, "You found it?"

"Yup, just a moment ago!" Minako chirped happily, dangling the earring in front of Megumi before putting it back in her ear, thoroughly ignoring the four male ninjas and lone kunoichi who were also standing in the clearing with herself and Megumi.

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The whole team watched stoically as the two girls bickered, he could tell that they were wondering what the girls had meant by the runes and portal. Deciding that neither one of them were much of a threat he, along with the rest of the team stepped out from their hiding places and after getting a nod of approval from the team he critically eyed the two as they quarreled, thinking exasperatedly, _'Oh god, I don't need to deal with these two idiots right now.' _

Forcing himself to sound somewhat interested he questioned the two with his eyes narrowed, "Found what?"

He was slightly surprised when the smaller girl with long red hair turned around and practically shouted at him as she swiftly turned around, "Don't you know what we're talking about?!"

When she caught sight of him and the rest of team seven she almost immediately fell into a fighting stance with a small, finely decorated knife held out in front of her, as soon as she got into the stance she straightened up, hiding the knife behind her back and quickly taking off one of her earrings, she made it appear as if she had never assumed a fighting stance. She moved so fast that he didn't think anyone in the team had noticed it except himself and perhaps Sai.

His eyes narrowing even further Sasuke observed the red head's, to him, obvious plan to get them to pass them off as a threat and move on, but due to her earlier fighting stance and her and her dark haired companion's presence at Orochimaru's base, that was now fairly unlikely.

He, along with the rest of team seven and Sai watched as the two girls spoke with each other in hushed tones that were barely heard by the Konoha ninja, the only thing giving them away was the dark haired girl's tense body and glances towards the group.

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As stealthily as she could Megumi motioned for Minako to give her the knife Minako currently held behind her back. Minako mouthed 'why', unsure of Megumi's intentions.

Megumi edged closer to Minako before she began to quietly explain, "I might need to draw some blood for an escape technique and it would look suspicious if I took out a weapon right now."

Nodding her head slightly, Minako handed Megumi the blade as inconspicuously as possible.

Noticing Megumi's hesitance at performing the technique Minako tried to save her the trouble by trying to leave the area without causing a scene.

Once again putting up her fake personality Minako waved to the ninjas cutely and said, "Well… Bye!"

Foolishly the two turned their backs to the ninja and began to power walk out of the area, both resisting the urge to run away from the ninjas.

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**Okay there it is I think this is my longest chapter EVER so far that is.**

**Well enjoy**

**And REVIEW!**

**RAWR!! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. I've finished chapters 5 and 6 by now so they should be up in a few moments.**

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****Blood Bonds **

**Chapter 4**

Team 7 watched as the two girls tried to make and exit, one with her arm in an odd position so as to hold a VERY noticeable knife, failing to hide it effectively, as the other one stumbled every other step or so.

"...pursuit?" the pink haired girl asked. Two males looked at the other one as the obvious leader stated

"Yeah...I think so." Naruto yelled at this statement. "Why does Sasuke get to decide? The man smirked at him snidely "because I am the team leader for this mission." he remarked as Naruto was then subjected to a pounding, courtesy of Sakura.

The team of ninjas followed silently after them.

"They're still following us." Megumi mouthed to Minako, after several minutes of walking around in odd circles.

"I know, calm down." Minako replied grimly to the tensed Megumi beside her. Without warning Minako slipped out of view the wind softly carrying the remains of her message to Megumi, "It's been too long...It's time."

Megumi hesitated before slowly drawing Minako's knife out, frowning deeply.

"This sucks." she said out loud as she moved to undo the bandages on her left arm to reveal 1 or 2 shallow cut marks that would disappear in a few days at most. She sighed as she moved the knife toward the vein in her arm.

Team 7 stood in bewilderment as one of the girls moved swiftly out of sight, as though receiving little but intensive training. They waited to assess this though, as the other girl swiftly pulled out the knife from earlier and began to move it towards her arm with the intent to cut herself with the knife.

Sakura, the medical-nin of the team, quickly moved to stop the girl from damaging herself. Not being able to stand by and watch someone die in front of her.

None of the three others had a chance to stop her as she darted out to the girl. Naruto's eyes widened at the sight, not noticing as the other girl swiftly and silently jumped down from a tree branch beside him.

Sasuke immediately noticed the prescience and quickly moved to alert the still unmoving Naruto. "Hello there" Minako said softly, her voice containing a soft tone of huskiness, before Sasuke could start a sentence. Naruto quickly whipped around. He jumped back a few feet into a fighting position, a kunai in his hand.

His eyes locked with hers.

Big mistake, Minako thought as she stood in a relaxed position, staring straight at him. Sai watched calmly from a distance and Sasuke stood in a fighting pose not far off from Naruto.

"After I snap my fingers, you will at my voice command of 'ENEMIE' and my voice's command alone, you will now see your comrades as the enemy instead of me." Minako said to the blonde in the same tone of voice as before, indicating the two teammates with a tilt of her head, careful not to break eye-contact.

A slow smirk spread across her face as she slowly snapped her fingers. The blonde and his teammates still too confused to react.

Megumi quickly cut herself as a pink haired person came flying out at her, in a state of panic she quickly performed the first jutsu that came to mind. "First movement Art- Shaking Leaf!" Moving so fast that Sakura almost stumbled with shock, Megumi appeared next to Minako and grabbed her waist before drawing more blood with Minako's blade before she said quietly this time, "Second movement Art- Moth's Shadow." with that the two disappeared and reappeared a short distance away.

"I got it, time to go" Minako whispered "Damn straight." Megumi replied, neither even bothering to ask about each other's newfound skills... at the moment at least. They quickly disappeared into the shadows

Four desperate people watched disorientated as 2 young girls disappeared into the shadows, almost all collapsing onto their knees or onto all fours from the strength the chakra that remained after their departure.

Two young girls collapsed into a heap about 3 miles away a half-hour later in a different clearing surrounded loosely by medium sized trees. "Let me wrap you up" one girl whispered to the other quietly, a soft warm smile playing on her lips.

Holding her arm out, Megumi offered her arm to Minako who gently took it; she merely held it examining the cut marks on Megumi's arm. Realizing the reason for Minako's stalling Megumi dug in her bag and wordlessly handed Minako a roll of bandages.

Minako quietly said, almost whispered, "Thanks." Minako began to wrap Megumi's arm in silence.

Megumi quickly grew bored of the silence and started a conversation with Minako, "So…" Pausing for a moment she resumed, "What happened with you?"

"Well you know, got taken to the sound base met Orochimaru and got some training from him." Minako responded almost uninterestingly, quite the opposite of Megumi who perked up and opened her mouth to ask something when Minako cut in, "He looked like some kind of trashy, drag-whore."

At Minako's observation Megumi burst out laughing and had to cover her mouth with her hands to muffle the sound, when she calmed down Megumi smiled and stated affectionately, "God, Minako, you're so harsh."

Lightly smiling at her friend's comment Minako raised Megumi's arm and questioned her, "And what caused this?"

"Apparently I got some special mutation of my chakra system that won't let me use my chakra unless I draw blood." Megumi responded gazing sadly at her cut up arm.

"I'm guessing that someone told you this and taught you how to use it." Minako concluded.

"Uh, yea, Aoi-sensei, she taught me how to use jutsu with the mutation." Megumi confirmed

When Minako finished bandaging Megumi's arm they settled against the trunks of two of the trees that surrounded the small clearing they were in.

By now it was dark and the moon could be seen in the sky, stretching her limbs like a cat, Megumi yawned tiredly and said, "Minako, I think we should get some sleep and consider our options in the morning."

"But I'm not tired, and it can't be later than 9 o'clock!" Minako protested.

Megumi responded, "Too bad, we're going to need our rest in case something happens, like earlier with team 7… If you don't go to sleep than I'll make you…" Megumi threatened at the end.

"Fine!" Minako huffed not knowing whether Megumi had the power to force her to sleep or not but didn't want to test it, and settled against the tree but began to shiver from the cold. Unaffected by the coolness of the night Megumi cast a glance at the shivering Minako before she grabbed a small blanket from her bag and throwing it over Minako who wrapped it over herself and laid down to sleep.

Also settling down against the tree to sleep, Megumi lay on her side and listened as her companion slowly drifted off to a fidgety slumber.

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Yay another completed chapter!

Feel free to REVIEW!

It makes the stories get updated faster...

RAWR!! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the next chapter of Blood Bonds I hope you enjoy!

Oh and...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters in any way

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**Blood Bonds **

**Chapter 5**

It was still dark out when Megumi woke up six hours after she had fallen asleep; she sat up and regarded her surrounding drowsily while she rubbed her eyes.

She had the feeling that something else had woken her but was too drowsy from just waking up to pay close attention to her surroundings.

Though either way they were both caught this time…

Team seven snuck up on the pair as they slept not wanting them to slip away a second time, just as they were going to enter the clearing and apprehend the two girls, the brown haired girl awoke and drowsily sat up and began to observe her surroundings.

They were relieved to see that she didn't sense them in her drowsy state and before she could come to her senses they quickly jumped in and knocked her out and tied both of them up.

After Naruto and Sakura tied the two up Sai picked up the brown haired girl and Sasuke picked up the red haired one, they began to travel through the forest towards the leaf village.

….

Megumi once again woke up just about exactly six hours later, she happened to wake up when the group had stopped for a break and had set her and Minako on the ground in the shade of some trees.

It didn't seem like any of team seven noticed her waking up, their attention was on Minako who still hadn't woken up despite having had about 12 hours of sleep by now.

Team seven also seemed worried over her prolonged sleeping state and Naruto was shaking her crazily in an effort to wake her from her practically unconscious state. Sakura stood nearby, chewing her nails in worry. Sasuke knelt beside the unconscious girl being just a bit closer to her than the frantic Naruto, who held her at arm's length. The rope had been untied from around her, instead attaching her ankle to the tree trunk.

Noticing that not all of team seven's attention was on Minako, Megumi turned her head to see Sai watching her intently while the rest of his team mates where busy trying to rouse Minako.

Megumi quickly turned away, her cheeks flushing bright red.

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Minako felt herself jostle. She flung her arms out to grab a hold of someone and didn't bother to open her eyes, not yet realizing where she was or the restraints that held her. She figured that her shaking was simply her animals or Megumi trying to rouse her from sleep just like every other time she spent the night and woken up hours before her. "Just a few more hours" Minako said out loud her voice ringing clear as a bell as if she had been awake for hours and recently drunken water. She quickly rolled over onto the ground from her position leaning on the tree, grabbing the nearest thing to her in the process and rolling on top of it. She snuggled up to the heat source and proceeded to fall asleep and continue to doze.

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Naruto and the others looked at the sleepy girl as her freakishly musical voice rang out, as if she WASN'T half-asleep. Naruto backed away a few inches when the girl suddenly grabbed Sasuke and rolled onto him, knocking him onto the ground in a flat position and then snuggling into him and falling back asleep without missing a beat.

Naruto tried not to burst into giggles as Sasuke opened his mouth in shock, not quite registering how the small girl had just pinned him. Sakura stood behind them, practically hissing.

"Try not to throw a hissy fit princess" The mumbled words came from the quiet girl who was now awake by the other tree, the brown-head obviously used to the red-heads antics. The words were unheard thankfully by the entire team 7, though Sai continued to stare at the girl intently, as though assessing her.

The girl quickly turned away from the piercing eyes as a blush graced her skin, a fact that she would never admit. The man sitting across from her arched a thin eyebrow as though amused…yet as if he wasn't quite sure he was correctly expressing himself, and he didn't quite care.

Sasuke quickly tried to lift the fairly light girl off him, emitting a small "oomph" when he was once again pinned to the ground with what looked to be no conscious effort from the small sleeping body atop him.

Getting over his amusement Naruto attempted to pry the girl off of Sasuke who was having trouble at doing so himself.

Megumi burst into laughter at the sight of Sasuke still on the ground pushing Minako off him and both Naruto and Sakura standing above them attempting to pull her off Sasuke surprisingly they were failing miserably at doing so despite her fairly light weight.

Sakura who had crouched particularly low to the ground while trying to pull Minako off was caught off guard when Minako attempted to shove her face away while tiredly muttering, "Stupid cat."

Sensing Sakura's murderous intent directed towards Minako, Megumi decided it was time to wake her up and end the scene, as amusing as it was, before Minako got hurt.

Megumi stated louder than her previous comment, "The vegetables are ready!"

Immediately sitting up Minako responded totally awake her voice painfully high pitched, "Meat! I want MEAT!"

The three ninjas in her immediate area flinched, each with a look of bewilderment or shock upon their face.

Minako looked around for a few moments, not really processing her surroundings. She slowly reached down her shirt to remove a second pocket knife, this one worn and plain as though used only for bare necessities.

Minako looked almost disgustingly at the dull unattractive knife that had been her first gift from one of her ex-boyfriends, a deft idiot who she had let know of her love for CEREMONIAL knifes.

She sneered once more at the knife in front of her before fluidly throwing it towards Megumi, knowing she wouldn't hit her while discreetly cutting the rope that bound her.

It was then that she registered that she was being watched by more than one pair of eyes as Naruto quickly caught her thrown knife to keep it from reaching its destination. She sighed at the blonde saying out loud without thinking,

"Will you gladly point me to some damn meat, bastard?" she asked, clarifying to the team mates that this girl was NOT a morning person, despite it being past noontime.

"Minako, you shouldn't call people that kind of name to their face! It's rude! You say that kind of thing behind their backs." The taller one obviously said without thinking, as she quickly turned her head to the side regretting her words.

Minako rubbed her temples; completely oblivious to the man she was now straddling.

"Megumi, you would be grumpy too to wake up to find yourself roped, and no food whatsoever in sight." Minako then turned to see the sight of the other girl completely bound to a tree.

A feral snarl quickly ripped its way out of her now open mouth as Minako's eyes widened in fury. Everything sharpened to the slightest detail in her haze of anger.

Now taking notice of her position over Sasuke Minako harshly gripped his throat her eyes shining with killing intent.

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Ninja instincts instantly awoken by the girl's violent reaction to seeing her companion tied to a tree, Sasuke immediately reacted by harshly pinning the girl to the ground and knocking her out before she could try to rescue her friend or attack his team.

Now subdued Naruto and Sai severed the rope that kept Minako attached to the tree and went to work restricting any movement with ropes while Sasuke and Sakura knocked Megumi out, who struggled weakly, lightly baring her teeth at them in a feral gesture before she was knocked out also.

After retying the ropes on Megumi so that they matched Minako's the team set out with their two captives to Konoha

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Minako slowly opened her eyes to the blinding light of a light bulb. She felt Megumi tied to her back. "Megum-"She abruptly cut off as fifteen eyes turned to look at her, "Oh, goddess."

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Please REVIEW!!

Oh and the reason there was an odd number of eyes is because Kakashi is there too. Though that's not very important to the story at the moment.

RAWR!! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's another chapter please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not Naruto or any of its characters.**

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**Blood Bonds**

**Chapter 6**

Clearing her throat Tsunade eyes the strange red haired girl, who had been knocked out a moment ago before she quest20ioned the now awake Minako, "What were you two doing at Orochimaru's hideout?"

Instead of answering the Hokage's question Minako decided to instead reply with a sarcastic remark to help vent her anger that had remained from before she was knocked out, "Why, I'm Orochimaru's daughter."

Becoming annoyed at the girl's obvious lie and uncooperativeness Tsunade narrowed her eyes and let her voice hint at her annoyance, "I doubt that."

Also narrowing her eyes Minako practically snarled, "No duh, I was kidnapped!"

Slightly pleased at getting this information Tsunade nodded towards the still knocked out Megumi, "Then what about her?"

"SHE was tied to a freakin tree." She snarled out as she glared at the obvious captain of the team from earlier. "You better hope I don't get my hands on you, pretty boy" Minako stated before reverting to her calm, uncaring self after venting the rest of her anger.

Taking notice of Minako's attitude towards Sasuke, Tsunade diverted her attention by adding to her previous question, "Before you were captured by team 7."

Shrugging her shoulders Minako responded coolly, "How would I know?"

Tsunade's eyebrows twitched irritably at the conscious girl's behavior. "Well then, would you mind giving me the details of your stay at Orochimaru's?" Tsunade asked slowly.

"yes." The girl replied simply. Several of the people in the room knitted their eyebrows in confusion before getting the comment.

Sasuke scowled at the girl, as Sakura glared at her with murderous intent. Naruto simply looked at the girl with a frown on his face while Sai stood slightly behind the others, paying more attention to the brunette than the conscious girl.

Megumi slowly opened her eyes to gaze blurrily around at her surrounding, quickly taking them in. Not quite processing what she saw Megumi yawned and began to stretch what limbs she could, which effectively drew the attention of just about everyone in the room as she too regained consciousness.

Leaning over a dark haired woman whispered in Tsunade's ear. Turning to look at the woman Tsunade scowled and stated, "I know that Shizune. I have eyes."

Turning her attention to the brown haired girl Tsunade asked Megumi, "Will you tell us what happened during your stay at Orochimaru's hideout?"

Drowsily tilting her head, Megumi responded, "Huh? I didn't stay at Orochimaru's hideout."

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead. Addressing the other shinobi in the room Tsunade stated, "We're not going to be able to get any information out of them, today at least and they don't seem to pose any kind of threat. Can one of you take them in for the night?"

The group of ninja that had been present in the room while Tsunade questioned the girls, each of said ninja looked at Sasuke, obviously hinting that he should take the girls in since he resided in the Uchiha compound which had plenty of room for him and the two girls.

Scowling at them Sasuke grudgingly volunteered to house the girls for the time being.

Tsunade nodded pleased that she didn't need to force any of the shinobi in the room to take the girls in.

Still scowling Sasuke walked over to the girls and grabbed the rope that tied them together, making quick work of the twisted string.

He easily hefted Minako over his shoulder while depositing Megumi under his opposite arm against his side.

Squeaking fairly loudly Megumi began to wiggle around in the ropes that now bound her alone, no longer connecting her to Minako, whereas Minako smiled sadistically and asked with fake amusement while pressing her entire body against his back,

"Do I feel heavy to you?" her innocent sounding voice betrayed by the smirk she didn't try to hide.

Sasuke didn't bother to answer Minako's question and decided to go through a less populated route to the Uchiha compound to avoid the minute chance that one of them could get away from him and possibly lose him in the crowd.

When they arrived at the compound both Minako and Megumi noticed that Sasuke sped up his pace as they passed a certain section of the compound before he entered a smaller building towards the outskirts of the compound.

"Pretty boy's afraid of ghosts, shocker." Minako whispered in his ear tauntingly. Sasuke chose to ignore the girl other than flashing a quick glare in her direction.

Maneuvering through the halls of the building Sasuke dumped the girls in a windowless room and told them sternly before locking the door and leaving the room, "Don't leave."

"Damn, I can't stand not feeling the sun on my face for any longer than I already have. Why doesn't HE try being kept inside a windowless building with crappy electricity and practically no utilities for 3 days?" Minako questioned angrily as she cut both herself and Megumi loose.

Megumi looked at her, "they didn't let you go outside for 3 days? Then where did you learn how to fight?" she asked.

"Indoor training grounds, horrible indoor training grounds." Minako shuddered. "Anyway, I am not going to be withheld from nature, after I've already had my electronics taken away."

Megumi gave her a face at the mention of Minako's love-hate relationship with technology and nature and her finicky ways. "Besides…I'm hungry." Minako continued with a snort from Megumi at the return of the black hole that was Minako.

"Fine, then find a way out on your own. Don't come crying to me if you get raped by a duck-butt haired Uchiha." Megumi responded.

Calling Megumi's bluff Minako approached the door and began to pick the lock on the door with multiple bobby-pins that she pulled out of her hair.

Megumi's façade shattered when Minako succeeded in picking the lock and opened the door and quietly slipped out of the room.

After waiting a moment to strengthen her resolve Megumi too left the room and began to search the house for Minako while remaining cautious of the Uchiha that was also residing there.

Unknown to her was that Minako had gone in the opposite direction and had already found her way outside and was formulating a plan to reunite with Megumi and escape from Konoha also that she was heading straight for the very Uchiha that she was trying to avoid.

Sasuke was turning a corner on his way to the room he had put the two girls in with several rice balls in hand for the girls to eat, when someone bumped into him. He instantly reacted by grabbing the person's arm.

He narrowed his eyes when he noticed that it was one of the girls who he had volunteered to let stay at his home, he was relieved it was the brown haired girl who was quieter and would be more willing to cooperate than her blue eyed companion.

Tightening his hold on Megumi's arm, Sasuke questioned exasperated at all the trouble the two girls were causing him, "Where did the other one go?"

Looking around nervously Megumi answered by pointing in the direction Sasuke had just come from.

Raising an eyebrow Sasuke replied, "That's the direction I just came from."

Not missing a beat Megumi responded, "Well that's the direction she went."

Sighing Sasuke put the rice balls into one of his currently empty pouches and dragged Megumi by her arm despite her following obediently behind him.

Sasuke walked through Konoha still practically dragging Megumi behind him. The streets were dark with the exception of the areas that were lit by the light from any shops on the side of the road.

A shadow flitted through the darkness across from them. "What was tha-"Megumi began, but was cut off when Sasuke pulled her along as he took off after the shadow.

Naruto was walking down the darkening streets when he spotted a shadowy figure dart across the street a yard or two ahead of him. Closely following the shadow he also Sasuke along with the girl they had brought back with them after they had infiltrated Orochimaru's hideout.

Sasuke stopped in the middle of the road after losing sight of the mysterious figure, only to be confronted by Naruto who had been on his nightly ramen run.

"Hey, what are you doing with that girl and where'd the other one go?" Naruto asked suspiciously now noticing the girl who accompanied Sasuke.

Sasuke told Naruto that he had lost one of the girls who he had been put in charge of, after which he glared openly at Naruto daring him to say anything.

Not bothering to ask if Sasuke wanted his help finding the red haired girl, Naruto stated enthusiastically, "Well we need to hurry up and find her then!"

"Not we, me, idiot." Sasuke responded coolly.

As the two conversed Megumi bit her lip, drawing blood and as he responded to Naruto's comment, Megumi quickly twisted her neck around and painfully bit the hand Sasuke was using to drag her along.

Sasuke quickly pulled his hand away, not because the actual bite hurt but a moment after she pulled away his hand felt like it was burning.

Focusing chakra into her leg muscles Megumi ran as fast as she could away from the two ninjas that stood there slightly shocked at her actions.

After a moment the two team mates nodded and went after the escaping girl.

As she ran Megumi once again focused on Minako's chakra attempting to find out her location in the village. Finding the chakra signature, Megumi changed directions and sped off to Minako's location.

Minako silently stood upon one of the taller trees in Konoha a sleek but small tabby cat lightly sitting upon her shoulder. It was obvious from her posture that the cat weighed nothing to the girl, despite the light weight and small build that was her form.

The girl nodded at the intelligent eyes of the feline beside her. "Thank you for lending me your sight." She said coolly as she nodded slightly to the cat.

The cat bowed her head in return, her eyes sparkling with the same mischief that often shone in Minako's own eyes before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Minako started to get ready to leap down branch by branch to the ground as the three figures approached the tree. She stepped lightly to the side where a branch stood slightly below her, only to stumble upon what seemed to be nothing and fell in the opposite direction of the branch towards the fast approaching figures beneath her.

Minako pummeled towards the ground swiftly trying to avoid the branches and twigs, she silently prayed that she would be able to turn and land on her feet with minimal injury.

Her hopes were to no avail as she pushed her body forward a bit too much, accidentally sending herself into an almost graceful series of flips and turns…her face toward the ground in an almost spread eagle position.

She considered for a moment, using the summoning jutsu to land easily. But…before even completing the thought she landed on a hard surface that seemed to be considerably less painful to land on than the ground.

As Naruto and Sasuke were closing in on Megumi they were both surprised when Minako fell from a nearby tree and landed squarely on Sasuke; effectively knocking him flat onto the ground and almost knocking him out.

Not quite unconscious Sasuke was dazed and didn't process the fact that once again the red haired girl had run into him…again.

After chasing the brown haired girl whose name they had yet to learn, Sasuke and Naruto had closed the distance she had gotten when she bit Sasuke in order to get away from them. The moment before he was going to lunge for her, he was suddenly knocked to the ground by a sudden weight on his back.

"Aw the Duck-Butt Cushion Jutsu." Megumi stated inwardly laughing at Sasuke's situation.

Hearing Megumi's comment Naruto began to laugh while Minako smirked at Megumi's attempt at humor, Sasuke growled from his position beneath Minako.

"Thank you, my lovely cushion." Minako responded happily to his reaction, a smirk lighting her face. Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes at the girl's sadistic nature.

"Love you too, cushion honey." Minako smiled slightly as the boy grunted. "Would you get off me already?" he asked irritably. "All in good time, Darling" Minako patted his cheek and situated herself into a sitting position to begin a discussion with Megumi, Naruto snickering loudly beside them.

Before Minako could say anything, Megumi was practically tackled to the ground by a flash of blue, "Aoi-sensei?"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Minako practically stared at the blue haired woman that was just about squeezing the life out of Megumi, "Oh, Megumi I'm so glad I found you! This is the perfect place to resume your training." Aoi gushed cheerfully.

Blinking owlishly Megumi turned her head to look at Aoi and questioned, "But would that be okay? Wouldn't we technically be considered foreign shinobi?"

Pulling away Aoi smiled widely and informed Megumi, "No, it'll be alright. I'm a former Konoha shinobi who is welcome to return to the village whenever I wish and you will be welcome since you're my apprentice."

Just noticing Megumi's lip which was still bleeding slightly from her self-inflicted wound, "I guess you got yourself into a pinch, huh?" Aoi casually questioned, worry slightly darkening her blue eyes.

Licking away some of the blood Megumi tried to reassure her mentor, "No, not at all. There's no need to worry, Aoi-sensei."

Minako let out a loud and feral hiss at the woman who had touched Megumi so familiarly. "Who are you?" She snarled, leaving Naruto and the Sasuke that she was now crouching on with looks of equal shock at the sudden outburst from what seemed to be a normally calm faced girl.

Turning to the red head Aoi responded, seemingly oblivious to the tone the girl had used, "I'm Aoi, kiddo, and I'm obviously Megumi's sensei. Are you Megumi's buddy that was taken to the sound hideout, she worked really hard to bust you out of there. Though I don't believe Megumi ever mentioned your name."

Minako almost instantly relaxed at the woman's tone. This woman could be trusted…and would most likely make a wonderful companion. A small cute smile played Minako's lips as she registered that the woman was of no threat to Megumi. Immediately, one of Minako's fake personalities surfaced as if on instinct.

"My name is Minako." The smile grew a bit to show her teeth, an action that anyone other than a skilled reader of people or Megumi would probably never figure out to be anything other than almost shy kindness.

Minako slowly slipped out of her crouch back into the position of sitting on Sasuke, a fluid motion, most unlikely to draw attention.

Playing along Aoi enthusiastically responded, "It's nice to meet you Minako!"

Turning to Megumi she whispered, "This is the one with your loyalty?"

Receiving a nod in return Aoi added ruffling Megumi's hair, which Megumi tried to shake off Aoi's hand to no avail, "…I like her."

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	7. Chapter 7

_**Blood Bonds **_

_**Chapter 7**_

Ignoring the two males Aoi motioned for Megumi and Minako to follow her as she led them to the Hokage's tower, with an arm around Megumi's shoulder in a tight grip. Irritated by Aoi's constant physical contact with Megumi, Minako sulked as she walked slightly behind the two.

Both Naruto and Sasuke followed a short distance behind the group suspicious of Aoi's claim about being a former leaf shinobi.

Knowing there was nothing she could do about the contact Minako tried to take her mind off of Aoi and Megumi by starting what would soon be her favorite pastime, teasing/making fun of Sasuke.

"So handsome, got a girlfriend...?" Minako questioned Sasuke with raised eyebrows and when she didn't get an immediate answer she finished, "… or a boyfriend?"

Seemingly unaffected by Minako's question Sasuke merely raised his eyebrow had her sudden behavior. While Naruto tried to any laughter that threatened to escape him at Minako's question.

Taking his raised eyebrow as an answer Minako exclaimed in a sing-song voice, "So he does have a man in his life."

At that Naruto began to quietly laugh and Megumi shake her head at Minako.

Noticing something out of the corner of her eye Megumi questioned Minako, "Hey, what happened to your ankle cuff?"

Just now noticing also Minako looked down to see that the cuff was no longer where it had been.

Naruto answered enthusiastically despite the question not being addressed to him, "Oh, Sasuke took it off after we knocked you two out the second time." Naruto's enthusiasm died down as he reached the end of his sentence and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Neither one of the girls had the chance to respond because by that time they had reached the Hokage's tower and Aoi had opened the door for them since both she and Megumi couldn't fit through the door while Aoi held onto Megumi's shoulder.

Megumi politely thanked her sensei and in return was practically shoved through the door by Aoi who was impatient to meet with the Hokage.

But due to Aoi's shove Megumi was unable to stop before she ran into the other person who happened to be exiting the tower when Aoi opened the door.

Sai was exiting the Hokage's tower after being called to Tsunade's office.

As he was about to push the door open it was opened and one of the girls who Team 7 had brought that day came through, practically shoved into him. He guessed she was pushed based on how even after she had stopped moving and was practically crushed into his chest; he still felt something pushing her onto him.

Stiffening at the unexpected contact with who she knew from the anime as Sai, Megumi did her best to stop her movement so that she could move out of the door way and let him pass; but unfortunately for her Aoi continued to push against her back and into Sai's chest, seemingly determined to get her through the doorway and that force was the best way to accomplish that.

Pulling her face away from his chest Megumi exclaimed, "Aoi-sensei!"

Hearing the discomfort in her student's voice Aoi paused in her pushing Megumi through the door to see that the reason that she hadn't been able to push through the door.

Not taking her hand off Megumi's back Aoi politely introduced herself, "Sorry about that, I'm Aoi."

Flashing the two a fake smile and eyeing them both suspiciously Sai responded politely, "Don't worry its fine. My name is Sai."

Smiling Aoi responded, "Nice to meet you Sai, now if you'll excuse us."

Giving a fake smile in return Sai stepped out of the doorway to let the females through.

When he saw Naruto and Sasuke enter he politely asked them, "What are _they_ doing here?" referring to Megumi and Minako.

Naruto shrugged sheepishly as Sasuke turned away, silently refusing to answer.

Sai tilted his head as though assessing their actions. Aoi quickly rushed through the doorway, paying no heed to Sai as she hurried quickly toward Tsunade as she pushed the confused Megumi in front of her.

The three others trailed behind them like sheep. Minako tried to get through the door at the same time as Sasuke and ended up jamming the doorway. Minako slightly turned her body with expertise to get through in front of him, flashing him a smirk as she walked on ahead of them to the Hokage's office in the tower.

Aoi burst into the room, startling many people in the process. Tsunade looked up from what appeared to the others to be a firm face-clutch, only to shake her head with a horrified look at the person who had just entered.

"Tsunade!!!" Aoi screamed as she walked in. Tsunade looked at her with a disgusted face, her eyebrows twitching. "Out!!!" she yelled suddenly. "All of you out, Sasuke they are no longer a threat to the village but they are staying with you till they find a home, now out!!! I must speak with...this woman! Alone!" she shouted.

Sasuke was about to protest when the 4 we're pushed back out of the room and escorted out of the tower by Sai before any of them could get a word in edgewise.

"W-w-what was that?" Sasuke spluttered. Naruto nodded to himself with a hand on his chin in a considering pose.

"I've never seen Tsunade Obaa-chan react like that to someone before." he thought for a moment. "Sai, do you know who she was?"

Sai looked at him for a moment. "Classified" Naruto sulked to the side as the others considered this newly acquired information...or rather lack there-of. Sai shrugged as he walked off sparing a glance only to the brunette before disappearing into the night.

Minako sent a pleading look to Megumi. Megumi instantly knew what was on her mind. "Oh no, not today you don't. We are not spending their money like that." She stated with determination.

Minako pouted at her for a minute. Megumi sighed. "Fine, if you can get our caretaker to agree as WE have no money." Minako smiled at her, a slow, purposeful grin.

She then turned to look at Sasuke the same look still upon her face. He looked back with disdain, instinctively fearing whatever this girl was about to do. Minako strode up to him, "Sasuke..." She said slowly, her voice bordering between pure innocence and sickly sweetness.

"Whatever you want, its fine." he stated hurriedly before the girl could say anything else.

Minako looked around at her companions, Megumi sighing and Naruto looking at her with a questioning gaze.

She quickly linked arms with Megumi and almost appeared to shudder away from the two boys, but that couldn't be right the boys quickly concluded. "Sasu-chan. Lead us to the nearest bath house that's still open!" She demanded loudly.

---

(At the bath house Yokujou** (1)**)

---

Minako rushed into the bathhouse, having arrived upon Sasuke's shoulders that she had previously jumped onto and forced to carry her.

"They'll pay for us." Minako Stated loudly as she rushed by the old man at the front desk and into the woman's side of the bath after pausing to look deviously at the men's side, a smirk on her face.

She then proceeded to run in, without waiting to catch a peek at the guys changing. 'Maybe later' she thought to herself jokingly.

Megumi followed close after pausing before walking in. She looked back at Sasuke and Naruto. She bowed deeply. "I'm terribly sorry for…HER," She said critically before simply walking into the woman's side.

Sasuke and Naruto stared after them for a few full minutes before dazedly walking into the male's side after handing the money to the man at the front desk.

"Bath, bathe, bathing, bath, bath!" Minako happily yelled as she swiftly stripped her clothes off and ran through the second sliding door.

She instantly ran into the backs of 2 girls. Sakura and a blonde-haired girl turned around "Hey, watch where you're going."

Megumi sweat dropped when she heard the noise on the other side of the door. Minako simply smiled and waved slightly. "Greetings fellow homo-sapiens." She said happily before walking swiftly past them to sit down. She left the two girls seething behind her.

Sakura had previously told Ino about this girl and already they both hated her. She hadn't even apologized after running into them. They were not happy kunoichi.

Megumi followed shortly after, softly and quickly evading the angry kunoichi to stick to the oblivious Minako who had just tripped on a bar of soap, slid across the floor where her foot turned the knob for cold water all the way on right above her.

"Nyaaaa" Minako cried out in surprise as she was pelted with icy cold water.

Sasuke and Naruto jolted as they walked through to the main room. "That sounded like-"Naruto began. "Yeah…I know" Sasuke cut him off exasperatedly, "Minako…are you okay?" He threw his voice over the wall, praying that they were the only ones there.

"Just fine Sasu-koi." She shouted over as she slowly unfurled herself. Two new people rushed to help her after they walked into the bathhouse.

"Oh thank you." She said to the new ones. They looked to be a brown-haired girl and a blue-haired girl. After righting herself, she noticed that her towel had slipped down considerably to show all the deep bruises on her shoulders, back, and collarbone.

She ignored the new arrivals' shocked expressions and instead ran over to Megumi, who had been approaching her silently anyways, "I want to bathe!" she shouted loud enough for the entire bathhouse to hear before walking back to the shower and adjusting the heat.

Megumi trailed after her with a dazed expression on her face at the horrible bruising, _'She really does bruise easily.'_ she confirmed silently.

Sakura and Ino stood to the side, still too enraged at the "Sasu-koi" to even move.

Naruto and Sasuke flinched at Minako's loud voice as six new people entered the room, a large dog trailing after a certain individual.

"Choji, Shikamaru, Neji, Lee, Shino, Kiba, Akamaru." Sasuke stated calmly, "Good evening." He said almost quietly. "Hey guys, Wassup" Naruto continued. Various "Hi's" and "Good evening's" and a "woof" replied the new arrivals.

"Hey, Megumi…" Megumi shook her head; "I don't have any Minako" Minako nodded. "Hey Sasuke…could you please throw me some shampoo?" She asked, her voice ringing throughout the rooms.

Sasuke sighed. "Why me?" He asked as he threw over his shampoo. "Because I wanna smell like Sasu-koi" She replied happily, causing several of the boys to have reactions like an eye twitch or a frown of disbelief as Sasuke actually lost his cool façade in shock.

Minako jumped up the wall by putting chakra in her feet and popping her head up over the wall so that her bruises weren't visible. "Thank you." She replied, as she was about to jump down.

Having gotten a good look at the towel clad young men she paused to yell over the wall, "Nice merchandise." Megumi quickly pulled her down. "MINAKO" She shouted embarrassedly at her as she yanked her back to the floor.

The blue haired girl from earlier blushed as the brown haired one stuttered at Minako's actions. Ino and Sakura simply stormed out. "I'll take a bath at home, I'm leaving" Ino called out over the wall as Sakura simply stormed out, not having arrived with her team like Ino had.

The brown haired girl came up to the now arguing Minako and Megumi. "I'm Tenten and this is Hinata." She said as she motioned first to herself and then the blue haired girl beside her. "H-hi, what are your names?" She asked. Megumi promptly replied with her name as Minako looked at them for a minute.

"I bet you guys just want me to tell you about the 'merchandise' huh?" She said with a smirk. Hinata blushed as Tenten smiled back. "But, of course." She replied.

Minako lightly punched her on the shoulder in return. "I like you already" She responded "I'm Minako." She finished.

After they chatted a bit as they washed their body and hair, they all got into the bath together.

"So…how's it cracking?" Minako asked Tenten and Hinata good heartedly. "Bought anything recently?" She asked, vaguely referring to the "Merchandise" from earlier.

Tenten shrugged and gave Minako a wink in reply.

Hinata simply blushed bashfully before wading closer to Megumi. She quickly moved back again at the glare Megumi was directing at Minako, who was either completely oblivious to it or ignoring her.

Hinata hid back behind Minako who was giggling at Tenten's antics, carefully placing her hand on a non-bruised portion of Minako's back.

Minako flinched away, wincing slightly as if caused physical pain. Her laughter halted suddenly as she abruptly stood up, dripping water as she walked quickly over to Megumi. She leaned over to place her head on her shoulder, otherwise not touching the girl as she still stood above her sitting form.

The girl accepted the touch wordlessly, her expression changing slightly as her lips twitched as though she was holding back a smile at Minako rejecting the others' touch so completely.

Minako turned around after a moment, her expressionless mask back in place. She looked to Hinata and Tenten briefly. They looked back at her, forgetting to hide the fact that they were obviously pondering Minako's odd behavior.

"I'm leaving." She said as she headed for the door. She quickly left without looking back. Megumi sighed lightly barely hiding the fact that it was only for show. She wordlessly got up and followed after Minako, ignoring the others' questioning gazes.

"Minako, you were rude." She stated calmly to the other girl as she closed the sliding door connecting the changing room and baths. Minako replied without turning around "She touched me". She smoothly slipped her clothes over her body, still refusing to look at Megumi.

Snorting lightly Megumi shrugged off her friend's logic and also began to get dressed.

Before the two left the room Minako stopped Megumi and ordered her seriously, "Drop the transformation technique."

Sighing Megumi seemed to relax as her appearance shifted slightly, now her hair that had seemed fairly straight was poufy and slightly curly. Her skin tone was slightly darker, tanner, but the most obvious change were the numerous cuts that were apparent on her arms, legs and even some on her face.

With a sad look on her face Minako raised her hand to gently touch the cut that was located on Megumi's cheek. Looking away Megumi reactivated the transformation technique and walked out of the room, Minako following her for a change.

Catching up to Megumi, Minako walked at her side and asked sounding slightly concerned, "Were those for your training with Aoi? Do they hurt?"

Avoiding the second question Megumi responded, "Yea, none of them are infected."

Neither of them bothering to attempt to start a conversation Minako and Megumi walked in silence to the Uchiha compound.

Returning to the room Sasuke had originally shown them they settled down to sleep.

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**1. – Yokujou means bathhouse in Japanese. It's a bad pun.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please Review!**

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	8. Notice

**Hello this is Leopard. I just deleted the rewrite blonds of blood because both Wolf and I are going to get together this weekend and work on the rewrite hopefully. We'll repost it after we've fixed the problems that have been pointed out to use and various problems I have seen with where the plot is going in our story. There isn't much else I can say. I'm sorry we haven't been updating often. We're both freshmen in high school and there's a lot of projects and homework so we don't get a chance to get together and write our stories. **

**Thank you for reading.**

**-Leopard  
**


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